A new partnership further advances the clinical development of inhaled oxytocin for the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) in developing countries.
PPH, a condition of excessive blood loss after birth, is the world’s leading cause of maternal mortality, resulting in an estimated 60,000 deaths per year in resource-limited countries.
A novel form of oxytocin, an inhalable dry powder that does not require refrigeration, could enable ease of use by frontline health workers, birth attendants and mothers themselves.
Monash University’s Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) has entered into a research and development agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to further advance the clinical development of inhaled oxytocin for the prevention of PPH in developing countries.
The research and development agreement builds on previous funding support from Janssen and will enable the specialist team at MIPS to rapidly evaluate their innovative dry powder formulation of oxytocin in preparation for large-scale, international trials.
The project lead at MIPS, Professor Michelle McIntosh said,“PPH is a significant and challenging global health issue so we’re very excited to be collaborating with Janssen to accelerate the development of this urgently needed healthcare innovation, which has been uniquely designed for affordability and simplicity of use in resource constrained settings.
“As we find ourselves in the clutches of a global pandemic, it’s been encouraging to see many positive instances of the private sector working together with academia to provide solutions to industry identified problems. This collaboration is yet another great example of the pharmaceutical industry supporting and collaborating with academia to tackle a critical unmet medical need.”
The Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund will also help to propel the project forward as they announced that they will co-fund a critical clinical trial to confirm the safety and performance of the optimised inhaled oxytocin product.
